Since the advent of Lexus, enthusiasts have bemoaned the certain conservatism found in the Toyota luxury brand. Despite efforts to inject a little excitement into the lineup, they have remained rather stodgy — until now. The grades have finally been posted. Lexus got an F.
What Is It?
Originally, Circle F was the code for what would eventually become the Lexus division. After that, F was the internal designation for a special vehicle code, one that was made even though corporate powers that be said no. In a manner similar to Mercedes-Benz’ AMG division, F is the designator for Lexus’s new “skunk works” department. The IS-F is its first high-performance vehicle.
Starting with the IS-350 as the blank canvas, Lexus has managed to shoehorn a huge motor into a pretty cool package.
What’s It Up Against?
The BMW M3 Sedan is the most obvious member of the IS-F’s competitive set. Add to that the Audi RS4, and the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG.
Any Big Breakthroughs?
Eight is great. Eight as in an eight-speed direct sport shift automatic transmission. Its the tranny first seen in the flagship LS460 sedan. Direct to cylinder injection (known in other brands as direct injection) is new on the block as well, providing more efficiency in fuel burn. Finally, the engine is equipped with engine-oil and transmission-fluid coolers to save the engine and tranny while under high stress that the IS-F will undoubtedly see.
A new version of the Lexus Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management (VDIM) is on board which now offers three types of control: Normal mode as seen in other Lexus cars, the new Sport mode which allows the driver to push the limits further in braking, throttle and steering response and finally, the off mode which allows the driver to exceed the limits of physics and good sense, if they so desire.
How Does It Look?
When we first saw renderings of the (then) upcoming IS-F, we felt the nose was slightly bulbous and overly sculpted. After seeing the Japanese-built pocket rocket, we’d admit it looks much better in the flesh.
Low and wide, it is one of the more aggressively styled sedans on the road. It looks good at the moment. Its boy-racer ground effects may date the car prematurely before its time, but the IS-F is not alone with this fault. The exhaust tips feature two-tips per side through the rear fascia. A little over the top, but only time will tell if this design cue withstands the test of time.
Of course, it’s also important we don’t lose sight of the competition. We generally think the IS is better looking than the 3-Series sedan, but the body mods to the M3 Sedan and IS-F make both cars look busier and less streamlined than the models on which they are based. (That said, we still think the F is an overall better looking car than the BMW M3 Sedan - ed). As for its other arch-rival, the RS4, the decision will come down to personal preference.
And Inside?
A sporting style sets the tone of the IS-F, and it is present in the interior as well. Well-bolstered, single-stitched perforated leather seats set the tone, but opt for the solid color instead of two-toned version. A four-seater, the IS-F has a center console in-between the two rear seats (don’t forget this, it’s not the same as the regular IS). Overall, the seats are supportive and do not cause fatigue during long jaunts on our South Florida test loop. We are curious why cool seats are not offered, especially in this day of gluteal warming.
The perforated leather theme continues in the cockpit with a leather-wrapped steering wheel with F-spec paddle shifters for control of the eight-speed slushbox. The center stack houses a seven-inch monitor for control of the climate controls, voice activated navigation and Mark Levinson-sourced audio system with a 14-speaker Surround Sound system.
Carbon Fiber accents round up the interior with panels on the doors and the center console.
Cargo capacity would be in the range of good, but not great. With a nod to the new measuring unit of cargo capacity, the trunk will accommodate two golf bags or other items.
But Does It Go?
The IS-F features a five-liter V8, which pumps out 416 horsepower and 371 lb-ft of torque. Amazingly quick off the line, it posts 0-60 times of 4.8 seconds, and passing is a blast, especially when encountering one of those Australian-style “road-trains,” which are tandem style tractor-trailer combinations. Stepping on the loud pedal causes an immediate growth of chest hair. You can’t help it. It just happens. The sound of the mill winding up is a great auditory experience, but, as we are seeing more these days from several manufacturers, it comes from the intake manifold underhood, instead of the exhaust pipes out back.
With a curb weight of 3780, this hot-rod has a weight to power ratio of 9.1 lbs / per hp.
Many colleagues have carped over the fact that the IS-F is only available with the eight-speed automatic with Direct Shift. Not us. In a major metropolitan area where rush-hour seems to last a full twelve hours a day, it is a welcome relief to be able to let the gearbox do its own thing, and should the occasion arise where you would like to bang through the gears yourself, you can, either by the shift lever, or through the paddle shifters which we really enjoyed.
An F-tuned double wishbone front suspension and multi-link rear keep the 19-inch forged BBS wheels shod with Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires (225/40R19 93Y front – 255/35R19 96Y rear) glued to the road. Brembo-sourced F-spec, cross-drilled 14.2-inch rotors and calipers in front, and 13.8-inch discs in the rear provide the stopping power, and they do work as advertised. There are apparently two schools of thought in regards to handling: German and Japanese. German favors firm, stiff cornering, while Japanese tend to add a touch of finesse to their form. One side is not necessarily better than the other; they are just different roads to the same destination.
The electric power steering is very direct and responsive to speed. Using the F sport mode adjusts to a more responsive steering feel with less assist. It’s a matter of preference but switching to F sport mode will increase fuel consumption when combined with remapping of the shift points. Speaking of consumption, the EPA’s numbers slot in at 16 city/23 hwy miles per gallon, with an average of 18 mpg. We saw 19.2 in a cross- state trip incorporating highways and city streets.
Road noise was surprisingly subdued on smooth surfaces, but did get noticeably louder on rough roads. Vibration was kept to a minimum, and fit and finish showed typical Lexus quality.
Apparently the local constabulary knows what the IS-F is capable of (or it was nearing the end of quota time), but while taking back roads through rural Florida, a county Sheriff pulled two cars behind ours and followed for nearly 15-miles, all the while continuing to blast his radar gun our way to see if we were getting happy feet and ready to take off. We behaved, avoiding the dreaded points and fees, to live another day. And Officer John Law went home empty handed, at least as far as we were concerned. But the feeling of driving a fast car slow is a tedious one!
Why You Would Buy It?
If you are a fan of Lexus/Toyota reliability and quality and are interested in trying a different stab at performance and luxury, the IS-F is your ride. Ditto, for those who take part in track days and would like a ride that will get them to the circuit, turn some laps and get back home in the same day. It will satisfy the most demanding drivers and even result in a few more smiles per mile.
Why You Wouldn’t
Achtung! If you appreciate performance with a German accent, then the IS-F might not be for you.
MSRP: $56,000. Price as tested: $61,465. Includes Mark Levinson Audio System, Intuitive Parking Assist, and Preferred Accessory package, and $765 transportation fee. See Leftlane’s full pricing guide for details.
Words and photos by Mark Elias.
06/16, 12:26 PM
posted by:
SWM335
Personally, I think the M3 looks much better then the IS-F. Lexus took a good looking car, IS350, and turned it into an overly styled, bloated looking car.
06/16, 12:31 PM
posted by:
WEKS
Out of the cars mentioned, the RS4 is IMO the best looker, of course it’s as always highly subjective.
06/16, 12:34 PM
posted by:
golf4me
The IS-F is BETTER looking than an M3 Sedan? My god, the writer must be in the IS-F demographic, which is to say 12-15 yr olds. Looks like a JC Whitney Catalog cover car. Get your eyes checked, writer. I didn’t even read the rest of the article, as your credibility was so shattered I couldn’t care about whatever else you might have said. I even doubted you are old enough to drive the damn car.
06/16, 12:59 PM
posted by:
cdsmith
Normally, I don’t like the styling by the Japanese, but I love the looks of this. The G8 has similar styling, but the IS is much better. I would definitely change the exhaust pipe configuration to a side-by-side or one big one. As much as I don’t like give Lexus their props, they deserve it on this one.
06/16, 12:59 PM
posted by:
kitko
BMW has outdated design and industrial, rough unrefined look and feel all around. Mercedes is outright vulgar and and tasteless. Audi is sterile and gutless.
None of the Germans features the acclaimed 8 speed gearbox, yes, it’s an autobox, but I have yet to see an average buyer of these high-performance cars shifting their stick properly….
Lexus simply offers the best of both worlds while protecting the engine and itself from a nutty driver.
This Lexus is a tour d’force of technology and comfort, the best package on the market that beats the Germans in their own game. Plus, neither of the Germans can beat Lexus on reliability and built quality.
Lexus doesn’t have to conform to perceived brand heritage or trying to beat the competition – that’s what happens in Germany, everyone wants to beat everyone else and the focus shifts from making a good car into producing a car that has more of everything than the neighbours.
Lexus did an excellent job and some people have a problem with that.
06/16, 1:09 PM
posted by:
jonmiles
What kind of ****ing crack are you guys smoking saying that this car is in any way shape or form attractive? I thought this car was ugly when I saw the pictures, but upon seeing it in person I was blown away by how much WORSE it is.
Lexus is a bull**** marketing ploy for stupid americans, and you idiots with no taste just keep eating it up. Go ahead and pay 60k plus for a poorly engineered toyota with a big engine.
06/16, 1:12 PM
posted by:
Kaizen
I’ve been driving an IS F for this past week. This car really is something else. The engine sounds so nice when the intake opens up. The transmission shifts are very crisp in manual mode when in lock-up. The throttle blips are NSFW-sounding. Just a very engaging experience, unlike all of the rest of Lexus products.
06/16, 2:02 PM
posted by:
Fletch
The E90 M3 sounds like more of a driver’s car by the reviews.
06/16, 2:36 PM
posted by:
brassmonkey
If I had to pick onle one design flaw among many, it would be the stacked quad tailpipes. Lexus has lowered themselves to try to capture the Acura Integra RS crowd that has gotten a few years older and has jobs and disposable income and “need” to buy this to prove to everyone else that they are successful. Rebadge to ‘Lexus IS F(ag)’
06/16, 2:46 PM
posted by:
Impulsive
Mr. Elias, it’s clear you have no business discussing this car. Except for the M3 opinion, which is also ugly, I agree with everything else ‘golf4me’ stated.
This kit car deserves the ‘F’ it gets … ****ing FAILURE.
06/16, 2:47 PM
posted by:
mayer_ray_nagin
I would take this over an M3 simply because 100% of BMW drivers are self-absorbed douchebags and I am not.
06/16, 4:08 PM
posted by:
snoboardguy21
I also stopped reading after the writer said it was better looking than the M3. Seriously?
06/16, 4:52 PM
posted by:
Z06ified
IS-F better looking than the M3? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder I suppose, but you have to be smoking some really good stuff to think the IS-F is better looking than the M3. Japanese crack, perhaps?
“Its boy-racer ground effects may date the car prematurely before its time, but the IS-F is not alone with this fault. ”
Not alone? Yes it is. What other vehicle in this segment has boy-racer ground effects like this?
“The exhaust tips feature two-tips per side through the rear fascia.”
No mention that they are FAKE tips. Another element of styling cheese along with the boy racer ground effects and bulbous hood bulge.
The review also fails to mention the suspension tuning, which, from every other review I’ve read about this car is so hard and jarring it’ll rattle your teeth fillings out.
I’m waiting for the CTS-V which will make this car irrelevant anyway. If the CTS-V doesn’t live up to my expectations, I’ll take an M3 then. But to pick an IS-F over an M3 for the same price? I don’t think so.
06/16, 4:55 PM
posted by:
shaver
The body work is the worst integration I have ever seen outside of Tijuana.
That tranny is a joke, it could have 16 gears its still a gimicked slush box.
06/16, 5:26 PM
posted by:
DeansterTJ
Jonmiles,
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This adage explains why a long, thick stiff **** drives you wild with horny anticipation of getting to suck it, whereas for other heterosexual men like myself it’s nothing special.
Likewise, car designs evoke similar differences in opinion. Is it clearer now you ****eating rapist?
06/16, 5:55 PM
posted by:
Stwelve
good car,its fast and there is so many innovation in it and toyota will sell it to lot of people,but its soulless..in my opinion the peoples who are clear sighted in car marketing does’t go for it.its not competitive to m3 or c63,but…well done toyota! good growth!
06/16, 6:11 PM
posted by:
NoNameDenton1
The body panels on here are terrible.
06/16, 6:41 PM
posted by:
Jigs
i chould have photoshoped a better body kit on a standard then they have made.
06/16, 6:59 PM
posted by:
VictorRaikkonen
I would take this over an M3 for the same reason I would take a RS4 over an M3… too many people drive the latter and its the performance market version of a Civivc.
06/16, 8:56 PM
posted by:
The Stig
I have to go with the M3 because I don’t fit in any Lexus IS. And the M3 has DCT, among other advantages.
06/16, 9:34 PM
posted by:
Kaizen
I can’t understand how you determine the car is soulless without even driving the thing. You are deriving your opinion the same way other people, who like the car, are; by the marketing. People either love Toyota or hate Toyota over the same BS.
06/17, 3:51 AM
posted by:
GT Pro
The IS-F
06/17, 3:53 AM
posted by:
GT Pro
The Lexus ‘IS’ 250+, since it’s debut a few years ago, has been one of the msot refined and beautiful of current automobiles on the planet. The IS-F, however, as a M3 and AMG C competitor comes off as a little too subtle in my idea as a HIGH performance vehicle. Still, if not mean like it should be in that segment, it’s beautiful.
06/17, 4:07 AM
posted by:
Veda
You guys are getting pissed over nothing, in that category which are full of upgraded sport versions of basic cars, nothing is really that beautiful. Instead they are selling performance for those who are willing to pay more than a similar looking standard model.
06/17, 8:49 AM
posted by:
Got Handling?
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” said mum to her ugly kid, but in the real world some things are unquestionably beautiful (Scarlett Johannson, Ferrari 250 GT SWB) and some things are not (Kathy Bates, Ssanyong Rodius).
.
There is a middle ground of course: JLC in Trading Places gets me looking around for a box of Kleenex in a way that I should have grown out of long ago, while other find her, well a bit err, mannish?
.
This is no middle ground car though, its ugly from the front and its ugly from the side. It should have been able to tempt a few fetishists with its pert rump but the designers efforts to lure us with the promise extra rear orifices will be more likely to result in nasty flashbacks to unfortunate haemmeroid sufferers.
06/17, 10:31 AM
posted by:
Need4SSpeed
I think Lexus did a good job with the IS-F. It’s definitely comparable to a M3 Sedan. But for 61-65k I’d get a M3 Sedan or more preferably the new CTS-V.
06/17, 1:19 PM
posted by:
ktulu
Lexus sucks!
11/04, 2:41 PM
posted by:
jackjimturkey
I’d give toyota’s faux-luxury division an “F” as well, though I’m not being cute.
This is just a pepped-up alteeza.
Really who, seeking an M3, RS4, or C63 AMG, will settle for a toyota? Who?
Any Big Breakthroughs? No.
Why You Would Buy It? You have no taste or brains.
Why You Wouldn’t
Achtung! you’re shopping in the luxury segment.
kitko: “neither of the Germans can beat Lexus on reliability and build quality.” I need some of what you’re injecting!j
jonmiles: “L—s is a bull(stuff) marketing ploy for stupid americans.” Yep.
11/17, 1:27 PM
posted by:
JDMLover
THIS CAR IT HOT!!!!
SEXY
FAST
POWERFUL
LOUD
LEXUS LUXURY ALL IN A LEXUS !!
Damn if i had the money right now i would buy one!!!
Lexus